Teach First rebrands in uplifting blue and building blocks

Social non-profit enterprise Teach First is committed to transforming primary and secondary education around the UK, with a new identity designed by London-based agency Johnson Banks. The brand is bright, bold and uplifting, using clear and colourful imagery to inspire positivity and optimism in children.

With a pre-existing uninspired identity with streamlined messages and classroom shots, Teach First wanted to revolutionise its brand by suggesting a more definite personality, to differentiate itself from the rest of the education field. Coming up with a fresh logo was the first step towards a new chapter in the organisation’s story, and Johnson Banks has conceived a visual identity to accompany the new typeface, putting children at the core of the new brand.

The renewed logo is a simple visual puzzle, a monogram hiding the brand’s initials. It is defined by building blocks and simple geometric shapes, reminiscent of primary education. The wordmark introduces a bold and sharp serif typeface complementing the building blocks, and hosting a bright blue as the main colour of the brand.

Complementing it with white and sunny yellow details in the rest of the identity, the new brand is at once academic and uplifting, and it focuses on sending positive messages across all mediums, with negative words explicitly crossed out in favour of more constructive statements. ‘Can’ becomes ‘do’ and ‘might’ becomes ‘will’ in Teach First’s reinvented identity, strongly tied to the brand’s mission for a better future in children’s education.

The refreshed brand shows kids in several situations; always encouraged to be themselves and show their personality across a number of varied photoshoots. It is a confident attempt to differentiate and find a relevant identity in the current brand landscape, one that is sure to send off the organisation to a new start and grant it a solid position for the upcoming years.

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